1912 VFA season

none December 2017 December 2017 VFA Premiership season 1912 10 Essendon (A.) 2 2 1911 1913 The 1912 VFA season was the 36th season of the Victorian Football Association (VFA), an Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria.1912 VFA Premiership Season https://australianfootball.com/seasons/season/vfa/193/premiership%2Bseason/8/8/1912/advanced Australian Football 9 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250409025822/https://australianfootball.com/seasons/season/vfa/193/premiership%2Bseason/8/8/1912/advanced 9 April 2025 The premiership was won for the second consecutive time by Essendon (Association), after it defeated in the Grand Final by 21 points on 28 September. It was the club's second and last VFA premiership. Background Rule changes The VFA reduced the number of players on the field seventeen-a-side to sixteen-a-side in 1912.The Argus 4 April 1912 Melbourne Thursday, 4 April, 1912 6 Old Boy The change came only four years after reducing the numbers from eighteen to seventeen in 1908.The Argus Football Reform – seventeen a-side 18 April 1908 12 Melbourne Association membership After several years of unsuccessful on-field performances by both clubs, the VFA was keen to see an amalgamation between the Preston and Northcote clubs;The Argus Melbourne 16 September 1911 Preston's weak team 17 amalgamations between the two clubs, which represented neighbouring northern suburbs of Melbourne, had been mooted on several occasions since 1908, even before Northcote had joined the Association.The Argus 3 November 1908 7 Melbourne Football – City of Melbourne ClubThe Argus 9 September 1910 Football – the semi-finals 4 Melbourne Old Boy For the first few years of their amalgamation, the club was formally known as the Northcote and Preston Football Club;The Argus 14 March 1913 9 Melbourne Football – Northcote and Preston Club but, it played its games in Northcote, retained Northcote's colours, and its team in the VFA was known as Northcote.Weekly Times 22 Football 20 April 1912 Melbourne, VIC The merged entity is considered a continuation of the Northcote Football Club. At the same time, the Association had been keen for many years to field a team in the inner city, an area historically dominated by League clubs. This vision was finally realised in 1912, with the establishment of the Melbourne City Football Club, which played its games at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground.The Independent 25 November 1911 Brevities 2 Footscray, VIC With these two changes, the size of the Association remained constant at ten teams. Premiership The home-and-home season was played over eighteen rounds, with each club playing the others twice; then, the top four clubs contested a finals series under the amended Argus system to determine the premiers for the season. Ladder main WDL Q 1912 VFA ladder true points y 4 2 Premiers FOO NOR ESS Essendon BRU Brunswick BRI Brighton PMB Port Melbourne WIL Williamstown NCT Northcote PRA Prahran MEL Melbourne City 15 3 0 1559 900 15 3 0 1269 907 13 5 0 1458 867 P 11 7 0 1140 1082 10 8 0 1111 1085 8 10 0 985 1086 7 11 0 1027 1115 6 12 0 1030 1230 5 13 0 1125 1327 0 18 0 762 1866 #CCFFCC A A A A 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Argus 19 August 1912 Football – South Melbourne's victory 10 Melbourne Old Boy Finals Semi Finals Saturday, 24 August 9.6 (60) D Brunswick 9.6 (60) North Melbourne Recreation Reserve 15,000 The Argus Melbourne Association Semi-Final – a drawn game 26 August 1912 16 Old Boy Saturday, 31 August 6.12 (48) A Essendon 10.11 (71) North Melbourne Recreation Reserve 20,000 The Argus Melbourne Association Semi-Final – Footscray beaten 2 September 1912 5 Old Boy Saturday, 7 September 6.12 (48) D Brunswick 6.12 (48) North Melbourne Recreation Reserve 11,000 The Argus Melbourne The second tie – a desperate game 9 September 1912 5 Old Boy Saturday, 14 September 12.11 (83) H Brunswick 9.14 (68) North Melbourne Recreation Reserve 11,000 The Argus Melbourne Association Semi-Final – the third trial 16 September 1912 11 Old Boy Preliminary Final Saturday, 21 September 14.14 (98) A Essendon 16.6 (102) North Melbourne Recreation Reserve 20,000 The Argus Melbourne The Association Game – Essendon's great victory 23 September 1912 6 Old Boy 1912 VFA Grand Final Saturday, 28 September 1.2 (8) 2.7 (19) 2.9 (21) 5.11 (41) Banbury, Borthwick, Cotton, Craddock, Knight A Essendon 2.3 (15) 3.6 (24) 7.8 (50) 9.8 (62) Clarke 3, McNamara 3, Hoare, Lewis, Sevior North Melbourne Recreation Reserve 25,000 The Argus Melbourne The Association – Essendon premiers 30 September 1912 6 Old Boy Kendall Notable events Interstate matches A representative Association team toured Broken Hill in June and July, playing two matches against a Barrier Ranges Football Association representative team. Jack McKenzie (Brunswick) was captain of the Association team. 1912 Interstate Matches Saturday, 29 June Barrier Ranges 8.12 (60) A Victoria (VFA) 9.16 (70) Jubilee Oval, Broken Hill 5,000 The Barrier Miner 1 July 1912 Interstate football 6 Broken Hill, NSW Wednesday, 3 July (morning) Barrier Ranges 8.10 (58) H Victoria (VFA) 6.6 (42) Jubilee Oval, Broken Hill The Argus 4 July 1912 Victorians at Broken Hill 10 Melbourne Other notable events Dave McNamara (Essendon) set two new Association goalkicking records during the season. On 20 July, he kicked eighteen goals against Melbourne City, setting a new record for most goals in a game.Western Mail Perth, WA 27 July 1912 The country week 29 Then he set a new record for most goals in a season, kicking 107 goals in all matches (including finals) to break his own record of 81 goals from 1911. So dominant was McNamara that he kicked more goals than the next best two players combined.The Argus Melbourne 30 September 1912 Leading Goalkickers 6 Old Boy The semi-final between and Brunswick on 24 August finished as a draw, the first ever VFA final to finish as such. A replay was scheduled for two weeks later (the week after the other scheduled semi-final). The replay was also drawn, so another replay was held the following week. The premiership trophy, which had first been presented in 1910, was awarded permanently to the Essendon (A.) Football Club. The trophy was to be awarded to the first team to win it either three times overall, or twice consecutively.North Melbourne Courier and West Melbourne Chronicle 14 October 1910 Grand Final – North Melbourne v. Brunswick 3 Melbourne References Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL